NASCAR drivers, fans accept risk: Your Say

A crash at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday injured at least 28 people, prompting a discussion about spectator safety. Comments from Facebook:

First, I pray for the healing of all the people injured. Next, I applaud NASCAR for all the safety innovations it has put into the sport to make it as safe as it knows how. There is absolutely no way to plan for every possible problem.

The choice to buy a ticket and selecting where to sit lies with me, the NASCAR fan. I assume the responsibility of knowing something can go wrong.

Heather Cooper Roberts

What's needed is for three or four of the biggest teams to step up and refuse to send their cars to Daytona and Talledega until NASCAR removes the restrictor plates.

Restrictor plates were added to prevent high-speed crashes. However, drivers say because the plates reduce speed, cars end up being clumped as they race around the tracks and cause multiple-vehicle wrecks.

Why do you think wrecks at these tracks are refereed to as the "big one"? Because these horrific crashes happen when cars run in packs, unable to separate.

Sadly enough, these big wrecks are probably why NASCAR refuses to get rid of restrictor plates. It's great for TV ratings.

Erin Braverman

Blocking in NASCAR is out of control. Imagine if Usain Bolt were blocked every time he ran a sprint? One move should be it, none of this weaving back and forth.

Tom Oates

Saturday's accident was a freak occurrence. Plenty of crashes occur during the regular season, but you only hear about something like this in the news because fans were injured. For the most part, NASCAR is safe for spectators and drivers alike, and accidents such as these rarely injure fans.

Accidents happen. Cars wreck in NASCAR, but you could go years before hearing another story similar to this. That is how rare this was.

Brian Sickler

Safety in racing has improved. If you compare today with the 1960s, it's night and day. Improvements will be made. A plexiglass wall perhaps? But racing will never be completely safe, for driver or fan. You either accept that as part of the sport, or you don't.